Focusing outside of yourself helps you thrive in this industry and helps you deal with so much and all the obstacles we face.

I’m a Filipina-Canadian singer-turned-actress who switched careers in order to champion Asian representation in film. I want to challenge the status quo and show the next generation of ethnically diverse artists that they can dream bigger than what the world tells them they can do.

Donna Benedicto is a Filipina Canadian actress and singer born and raised in Vancouver, BC. Growing up as an ethnic minority, Donna decided to make a switch from full-time singing to pursue acting in 2013 because she saw a gap in Asian representation. Since then, she has gone on to become the first Filipina lead in multiple TV movies, including Incendo’s Farmer Seeking Love, as well as guest starring on NBC’s The Good Doctor, and booking recurring roles on CW’s Supergirl and ABC’s A Million Little Things. 

In addition to acting, Donna is currently working on her first original album and recently released two singles that appear in the Lifetime original movie Wrath. She is also an avid boxer and kickboxer, having trained for 4 years at various MMA gyms in metro Vancouver.

Mustering the courage to be true to their own feelings, no matter what types of emotional and mental obstacles they face in their lives, can be a challenging process for everyone, especially those who are living in a society that expects them to suppress their sentiments. But actress Anna Maguire’s protagonist of Anabel is doing just that with the help of her best friend and colleague, actress Donna Benedicto’s character of Casey, in the new sci-fi comedy-drama, With Love and a Major Organ.

Donna explained the reason why she thinks it’s important to reflect on how technology dictates how people live in modern society, and how the film serves as an important piece of social commentary: “I think movies are made to make you take a look into your life and how much we rely on social media. Without giving too much away, it shows how feelings are important, and it’s great not to suppress them,” she noted.

“You see the big contrast between the two characters of Casey and Anabel. Anabel is all about feelings, to the extreme, and Casey is not about feelings, to the extreme,” Benedicto emphasized. “So, I think it’s very important to showcase that; it helps us reflect on ourselves, and how we deal with these new apps and AI coming out,” the actress added.

She also is in Lifetime’s Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story, starring Stephanie Mills. It’s the story of Bertie, an aging matriarch and reality television star whose carefully constructed world starts to crumble–like the baked goods that catapulted her to fame–when family secrets are brought to light. To see the truth and salvage her legacy, Bertie must let go of the pride that estranged her from her late college-dropout daughter. A pride that prevents Bertie from seeing her son Gabe as the thieving opportunist he is and her granddaughter Ella as just a lost twenty-something trying to build up her life after some missteps–not someone to hold in contempt. Pride brought Bertie up the climb, but it also made her blind–it’s time for her to see or face the consequences. Stars Keeya King, Stephanie Mills, Thomas Miles, Lucia Walters, and Jaime M. Callica (2023).

Instagram: @donna_b4real

FB: Donna Benedicto – Actor/Singer 

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Website: donna.benedicto.com